Mda Fund-raising Events Spell Weekend Full Of Frolic

They will be cutting hair, dancing around-the-clock, riding bicycles, playing golf and partying this weekend, all in the name of charity.

Beginning Saturday, Palm Beach County residents will be out in force donating their time and dollars toward the fight against muscular dystrophy.

For officials from the local chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, this weekend will be the culmination of months of planning for what amounts to the most important weekend in their fund-raising efforts.

``The majority of our fund-raising is during telethon weekend,`` said Ritchie Dorrier of the MDA`s Greater West Palm Beach chapter.

Dorrier said about 60 percent of the funds raised annually by the local chapter are raised during the holiday weekend.

Officials from the local chapter are hoping to top the $343,196 raised during the Labor Day weekend effort last year.

``If we do $1 better than last year, then we reached our goal,`` Dorrier said.

In their efforts to meet the fund-raising challenge, MDA officials have been working closely with dozens of businesses and organizations that have volunteered to help raise money.

``I think we`ve got a lot of community involvement this year,`` said Leslie Battalen, the program coordinator for the local MDA chapter. ``There`s a lot of interesting things to do if you don`t go away.``

Firefighters throughout the county will be at several intersections collecting donations.

Last year, Dorrier said, firefighters collected almost $30,000.

The events will begin Saturday morning as bicyclists in Boca Raton participate in a 37-mile ride through Boca Raton.

The Bike-For-Life event, sponsored by the Boca Raton Jaycees, will begin at 9 a.m. at the Universal Health Spa, in the 5500 block of North Federal Highway.

Throughout the day, hair salons across the county will participate in ``cut- athons,`` donating proceeds from haircuts to the MDA.

Saturday afternoon, residents will can compete in a Madonna look-alike contest at the Nassau Square Beauty Center in the 7700 block of Lake Worth Road.

There will be a $2.50 entry fee per person. The first-place winner will get a $50 prize and the second-place winner will be awarded $30. The third-place finisher will receive $20 and all proceeds will be donated to the MDA.

Sunday afternoon, there will be another competition at St. Andrews Country Club, near Boca Raton, which will be hosting a ``Get on Course for Jerry`s Kids`` golf and tennis tournament which will begin at 1 p.m.

Sunday night will be an evening of dancing throughout the county.

Calhoun`s Nightclub, on South Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach, will sponsor a dance marathon which will begin about 9 p.m. Sunday and end Monday night.

There also will be a dance Sunday at the Bounty Lounge in Boca Raton beginning at 8 p.m., which is sponsored by the Boca Raton Jaycees and WRMF radio station.

At the Airport Hilton in West Palm Beach, the North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens Jayceeswill sponsor a celebrity bartending event. Organizers also will be giving away a weekend trip to Washington, D.C.

There will be a full schedule of activities Monday, including a pool party at the Holiday Inn on Glades Road and Interstate 95 in Boca Raton, which is co- sponsored by WSBR. The party begins at noon.

A little farther west, there will be a ``Sidewalk Sideshow`` at the Shadowood Square shopping center on Glades Road and U.S. 441. The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature a belly-dancer, clowns and rides for children.

There also will be an all-day party at Shooter`s Lounge in Boynton Beach that will include a bikini contest, a dunk tank and musical entertainment.

A dunk tank also will be set up near the William A. Nichols Real Estate office in the 600 block of East Ocean Avenue. Activities will include a bake sale and games for children.

Clowns and mimes also will be part of the Labor Day Bonanza at the Poinciana Golf and Racquet Club near Lake Worth. The event will feature a Big Band and a Dixieland band. Earlier in the day, the club will host a golf tournament.

A pool party is planned at the Airport Hilton in West Palm Beach beginning at noon. The first 500 people to pay the $1 entry fee will receive a WKGR T- shirt.

The party will feature an auction and a 15-act water-ski show.

The Hilton also will be the site of the main pledge center during the national MDA telethon. Volunteers will operate 85 phones at the Hilton and will answer calls during the telethon, which begins Sunday night and ends Monday.

Pledge centers also will be located at the Holiday Inn in Boca Raton, the William Nichols Real Estate in Boynton Beach, and the studios of WPEC, Channel 12.